The Ghost and Mrs Walker
by writerchic16
Summary: Halloween story. Nora becomes convinced that William’s ghost is haunting the house, causing the siblings to take sides on whether they believe her or not.
1. Chapter 1

**The Ghost and Mrs. Walker**

Summary: Halloween story. Nora becomes convinced that William's ghost is haunting the house, causing the siblings to take sides on whether they believe her or not.

A/N: This is my first foray into the Brothers & Sisters category. I guess it's what happens when you watch the new episodes along with a million Halloween special commercials, lol.

Anyway, I apologize for any out-of-character behavior or inconsistencies with plot. Usually I'm okay with that stuff, but this is a new category for me, and I haven't been watching the show since the start – maybe the beginning to middle of last season. This takes place after the latest episode, the second one of Season 2, Book Burning.

This is going to be short, too. Ten chapters at most, and the length of each short as well. Will definitely be finished by Halloween.

* * *

Nora Walker sat on the living room couch with her laptop in front of her. After Kitty revealed her talent for writing, Nora was reminded of how much she enjoyed it. A hobby would be a nice distraction from the chaos that surrounded her.

If, of course, she could only get one word down on paper.

Her mind was so jumbled that nothing was coming to her. It was filled with the family drama. Her children's company was facing hard times, Kevin had just been fired from said company, Justin was dealing with a new, awkward relationship, and Kitty was in the process of adopting a child.

And she was dealing with the very real midlife crisis of realizing that she had no life of her own, started by reading Kitty's description of her in the book.

When she was honest with herself, she faced the facts. The company was not _her_ problems. Her sons' professional and romantic lives were not _her_ problems. The possible addition of an adopted child to the family was not _her_ problem. She didn't have any problems because…she didn't have anything of her own.

The cordless phone beside her rang. "Hello?" she asked. "Oh, hi sweetie." It was Sarah on the line. "Justin…he's out with Rebecca right now. Okay, honey, see you at dinner this weekend. Good night." With that, she hung up, feeling as if her point had just been made. All she was these days was a personal answering machine for her son, or a chef when one of her children needed to impress someone with a meal.

She shook her head and went back to her computer. Wallowing in self-pity wouldn't do her any good.

A half hour later, all she managed to write down was a long rant about her sorry state in life, and her feelings on each of her children's issues. She began to wonder if she should write a sequel to her daughter's family tell-all.

Her head snapped up as a faint sound reached her ears….it almost sounded like a ghostly moan. But Nora shook her head, telling herself that her imagination was overreacting because of all the Halloween specials that were on TV.

She went back to work, beginning her next rant on Holly. Nora didn't hate people, but if there was one woman she strongly disliked, it was Holly. Who was she to take over _her_ family's business?

Lost in her thoughts, she jumped when there was another noise. It was the unmistakable sound of knocking, a sharp rapping that seemed to be coming from someone banging their hand on the television. Of course, the room was empty except for her.

Her heart beginning to pound, Nora sunk lower on the couch and brought her blanket up to her shoulders. Justin said he'd be home by midnight, right?

While she thought of reasons why her son might miraculously come home at the exact moment she wanted him, the lamp that had been turned on low was knocked from the table, as if someone had swiped it off.

"Oh!" Nora gasped, closing her laptop in a reflexive gesture. The snap of the laptop also caused her to jump.

Hugging her laptop and blanket close, she tried to tell herself that the noises were nothing, just sounds of a large house. That the lamp could have been…could have been…

"_Nora…"_

"Oh my God!" Nora exclaimed, finally jumping up from the couch, the laptop crashing to the floor. Realizing she was standing with no destination in mind, she ran into the kitchen, her comfort zone.

And turned on every precious light she could find.

* * *

That night, she slept with one of her bedroom lights on. That was fine, since she knew she couldn't sleep anyway. The noises and lamp she'd dismissed in an instant, but the voice…

It sounded like William.

But now, in the daylight, she supposed she could have imagined the voice. The noises might have been real, but maybe they encouraged her to imagine this ethereal voice calling her. Or maybe, the voice had actually been something else, but in her frazzled state, she'd interpreted it as her name.

She just had to tell herself what she used to tell Kitty, when her youngest daughter would get scared on Halloween. _There were no such things as ghosts._

"'Morning, Mom."

"Ah!" Nora exclaimed, jumping at her son's greeting. She'd been in the hallway, about to go downstairs when Justin had snuck up behind her from his room.

Smirking at her, Justin asked, "What's with you?"

"N-Nothing," Nora assured him as she composed herself. "I-I'm just a little shaken up this morning, I guess. With you out, most of the lights off, a few weeks before Halloween…I sort of let my imagination get carried away."

Justin chuckled while he and Nora went downstairs into the kitchen. "What happened? Creepy noises, stuff moving on its own…"

"Basically. I swear, it was a scene straight out of a cheesy Halloween movie. Which is probably where I imagined it from," Nora explained, taking out the hardware and ingredients necessary for eggs and bacon. "How do you want your eggs, sweetie?"

Taking a seat at the counter island, Justin replied, "Scrambled, please. So, what else did you 'imagine'?"

"That the lamp fell over. And your father's voice calling my name. Now that I think about it, it really is ridiculous how panicked I got," Nora said with a forced laugh. However, there was still that small doubt that maybe it hadn't _all_ been imagination. "So how was your date?"

Justin smiled, clearly reliving the night in his mind. "Amazing, as usual. It's weird being in a relationship that I want to work, you know? I think taking it slow with Rebecca was definitely the right decision."

"I'm glad you think so. Who knows, maybe one day Rebecca actually will be a legitimate member of this family…" Nora trailed off, smiling at Justin's panicked expression. "Too soon, huh?"

Justin nodded. "_Way_ too soon."

"Justin? Nora?"

Nora glanced toward the front of the house, where she could see Rebecca making her way towards the kitchen. "Good morning, honey!" she greeted. "You're just in time for breakfast. How do you want your eggs?"

"Uh…I'll have whatever Justin's having," Rebecca answered, stopping in the doorway as Justin got up and kissed her hello. Giving him a brief kiss back, she pointed in the general direction of the living room. "So, what happened to your lamp?"

At that, Nora almost dropped the whisk she'd been getting for the eggs. "W-What?"

"Yeah, I passed it on the way in, and it's broken on the floor…" Rebecca trailed off, bewildered by Nora's scared look. "What's going on?"

Grinning at the both of them, Justin remarked, "Mom thinks the house is haunted."

"Oh, I do not! I'm sure last night it just fell over. Furniture can do that, you know," Nora replied, the reasoning sounding feeble even to her.

Rebecca raised an eyebrow. "Haunted? If it's any consolation, I don't' think a lamp falling over means…"

"It wasn't _just_ the lamp," Justin interrupted.

Glaring at him, Nora explained, "Oh, come on, now you're just trying to embarrass me. So the lamp fell by itself. I highly doubt a ghost was calling my name through the dark…"

"You heard your name?" Rebecca asked in surprise.

'I'm almost positive it _wasn't_ my name. It had to be a random noise and I just interpreted it that way," Nora insisted. Determined, she went back to making breakfast. "Now where did I put those eggs…"

The three stared in astonishment as the egg carton on the counter opened on its own. Then, in a move that made Nora gasp, an egg jumped out of its holder and landed gracefully on the counter. It didn't crack the slightest bit as it rolled over to the spot next to where Nora was standing, stopping just short of where her hand lied on the countertop.

While the women recuperated from the shock, Justin offered them a weak smile. "You _did_ like it when Dad helped you in the kitchen."

"That's not funny," Nora said. She had meant it to come out sharp, but instead emerged as a terrified whisper.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

At her desk, Sarah massaged her forehead while she sifted through countless memos and data sheets. She was beginning to realize that her overload was not just the average "bad day at work." If it was, then that "bad day" was going on two weeks now.

The company was changing, and she didn't like it. Holly and Tommy were obsessed with cutting back, while at the same time finding ways to expand. They needed to hire new people, but her "bosses" wouldn't, so she was stuck with more and more crap that a CEO should not have to do. And what was worse, it felt like Tommy and Holly didn't have to deal with any of it.

She was beginning to realize that she wasn't considered an equal anymore. Just the "tie breaker" should the bosses disagree.

It made her angry. _Really_ angry. Hadn't their father left the business to her in the first place? For a brief moment, she wished her father could see this.

Briefly consumed by anger, her head snapped up when there was a light knock at the door. "What, Tommy?" she snapped, more of an edge in her tone than she intended. "Stop by to fire another sibling?"

"You're still mad about that?" Tommy groaned.

Sarah glared at him and answered, "_Yes_, I am still mad about that, and will be for some time. What do you want?"

Tommy held up the stack of papers in his hand and put it on her already-crowded desk. "Holly wants you to look over these."

"And you don't?" Sarah remarked as she snatched the fresh pile from its place. She leaned back in her chair while she began to sift through them. When Tommy didn't leave, she raised an eyebrow. "Can I help you?"

Tommy held up his hands in a defensive gesture. "Sorry, didn't realize that I'd been dismissed."

Once he left, Sarah rolled her eyes and buried herself in paperwork. She was only interrupted when her cell phone rang. "Hello?"

"_Hey Sarah."_

"Not now, Justin. Ask Mom about your relationship issues. Tommy just dropped more work on my desk…not that I seeas much on his as there is on mine."

"_Someone's bitter."_

"I think have a right to be, don't you?" Sarah asked. Then she sighed and asked with sarcasm, "So to what do I owe the unexpected pleasure of your call?"

"_Yours, actually. Mom said you called last night while I was on a date."_

"Oh, right, forgot about that," Sarah replied as she remembered she had called the house when she got home from work a couple of nights ago. "Just wondering how it's going with Rebecca."

"_Great. Thanks for the advice, it's going really well."_

"You're welcome, glad to hear it."

"_How's it going at the office?"_

Sarah felt her temper spike at the mere mention of work. "A total nightmare. I'm almost positive that Dad is rolling in his grave now that Holly took over…"

_Justin laughed. "Funny you should say that."_

After she paused in confusion, Sarah asked, "What, about Dad or about Holly?"

_There was a brief pause, then Justin explained, "Okay, Mom would freak if she knew I was telling you this, but it's just too good not to."_

"'Too good'? What's that supposed to mean?" Sarah asked. She put down her stack of papers, her curiosity causing her to focus on the conversation.

"_Mom got spooked while I was out with Rebecca. Says she heard noises and Dad calling her name. She probably would rather me not tell you because you'd think she was a raving lunatic."_

Sarah's jaw dropped in surprise at the news, followed by a deep laugh. "Mom thinks Dad is _haunting_ her? Oh, you're right, that _is_ good."

"_But, um…I don't think it's just her imagination. Neither does Rebecca. We sort of…saw something."_

"What? Doors slamming, stuff floating in midair…" Sarah mocked.

"_Well, the other morning when Mom was making breakfast, the egg carton opened by itself, an egg popped out and rolled over to her on the counter. And ever since, there _have _been…noises. And doors closing. And stuff moving. Nothing as concrete as the egg thing, but…it's creepy. Mom's really freaking out."_

Sarah groaned and leaned back in the chair. _The last thing this family needs is more drama,_ she thought. _Especially drama that doesn't exist._ "Alright, I'll…I'm working late this week, but I'll come by this weekend. And maybe if we have a sibling dinner we can take Mom's mind off 'Dad's ghost.'"

"_Yeah, good idea. Are you inviting Tommy?"_

Groaning again, Sarah realized that she just created a reason to talk to Tommy. "Yeah, yeah, you can't have a sibling dinner without all five of us. Spouses?"

"_Nah, I think that would just embarrass Mom. I mean, it's one thing to look like a nut job in front of your actual children…"_

Sarah nodded in agreement even though Justin couldn't see her. "Yeah, good idea. We'll make it next weekend or the week after…you think Mom's going to want to host it?"

"_Normally I'd say 'when has Mom ever turned down a sibling dinner,' but lately she's been too afraid to go into the kitchen much."_

_Oh, boy,_ Sarah thought. "I'll talk to Mom, hopefully calm her nerves."

"_Okay. See you at the house this weekend. Hang in there."_

"Believe me, I'm trying," Sarah replied. Then she hung up her phone and got back to work.

* * *

"I'm not so sure about this passage," Kitty said, pointing to the spot in her book. She wanted to make sure it was perfect before it went out to publishers.

So she turned to her mother for help.

These days it wasn't hard for her to stop by her mother's house in the middle of the afternoon. Her two weeks notice for her job had ended, and she was now a woman of leisure. Well, a woman of leisure who had a book to sell. She spent most of that free time over her mother's house going over her book. Mostly, they checked family history…and scaled down the "libelous" parts.

Kitty had spent a good half-hour printing the book onto plain computer paper, three-hole punching it and binding it with small binder rings. She passed the book over to Nora, who barely glanced at the spot. "Oh, it's fine, sweetie," Nora said, then turned away and busied herself with washing up the dishes from lunch.

"Uh, Mom? It's a paragraph about my view of your liberal beliefs. You have to have something to say about it," Kitty replied, surprised by her mother's unusual dismissive behavior. Nora had been like that all this week. And frankly, Kitty was a little hurt. Did her mother not care about her new writing career?

Nora shrugged in response. "Oh, you know what I'd say – you're Republican, I'm Democrat, blah blah blah. Do we really need to have this discussion every time its mentioned?" She paused "You know, why don't we go out shopping for a while?"

"W-wha…what?" Kitty blurted, struck speechless for a moment. _What the hell is going on here?_ "Mom, if you don't want to help me edit my book, you could've just said so!"

Realizing how she sounded, Nora sighed. "I'm sorry, honey," she replied, giving Kitty a quick, apologetic hug. "I'm just…hey, let's go over the book at your place. Give me a little change of scenery, huh?"

Kitty stared at her with concern. "Mom…what's the matter? You've been acting weird all week. You know, even Justin seemed a little jumpy when I bumped into him earlier. Did something happen with him? Maybe the reason you want to get out of the house?"

"No, no, everyone's fine," Nora assured her, not quite meeting her daughter's gaze. "It's…I…_I think your father's ghost is in the house_!"

At that, Kitty's mouth fell open in shock, dumbfounded as she stared at her mother with nothing to say in response. _My father's _ghost_?_ She thought in disbelief. _Is she serious?_ "Okay, Mom, is this some kind of early Halloween thing? Because it's not funny. "

"I'm not joking!" Nora insisted. "I've been terrified all week! Ever since Saturday night, it's been nothing but ghostly noises a-and stuff moving on its own! And, and I swear to you, every once in a while I hear him call my name!"

Still trying to process the information, Kitty felt a shiver go down her spine at the thought of a ghost in the house. Not just any ghost, but her father's ghost. _It almost makes sense,_ Kitty thought as she fought to conceal a wry smile. _With all we found out about him after he died, he'd have some _major_ unfinished business._

But she had a feeling that her mother needed a calm head right then, not someone to start panicking with her. "Mom, are you sure? All kinds of noises can be explained…"

"If it was just the noises, I'd agree with you," Nora interrupted as she paced the kitchen with nervous anxiety. "But there's some things that have happened that cannot be explained away."

Kitty really didn't know what to say, so she did what her husband the politician did all the time – changed the subject. "So, um…does Justin know? He lives here too."

"Yeah. In fact, he's been spending much more time out with Rebecca because of it," Nora answered, beginning to calm down. "Right now, they're taking advantage of the nice Fall day and going for a walk…_oh_!"

Wondering what had caused her mother's surprise, Kitty turned around and gasped, her heart pounding to the point where she thought for sure she would need to be rushed to the hospital.

Her book was under attack.

The three binder rings popped off one by one, scattering on the island counter. Then it appeared as if someone was holding one side of the book down on the counter, while he ripped the pages from the other side.

With a determination that impressed Kitty, Nora ran over to the counter and fought to pin the pages down. "Now, William, you stop that!" Nora yelled, taking hold of the pages and not letting go.

Kitty gasped again in horror as the book began pulling in the other direction, nearly defying gravity in its efforts. That was when she finally found the courage to move and help her mother. Both of them managed to pull the pages out of the force's grasp.

The resistance ceased, and both woman lost their balance as the pages were freed.

While they fought to catch their breaths, Nora gaped at the ripped and scattered pages in terrified silence.

"B-but t-that…and h-he…_how_?" Kitty sputtered, her eyes wide as she stared at the remains of her book copy. Yet somehow only one thought came to mind. "Dad doesn't approve of my book?"

Shaking her head in disappointment, Nora began to clean up the supernaturally-induced mess. "Think about it, Kitty. Your father was a conservative man. And this book will, in effect, spill the beans about his multiple trysts and embezzling habits to the entire country. I wouldn't be surprised if that was the sole reason he's come back from the grave."

As if in response, the various papers still on the counter gathered in a semi-neat pile.

"I think that was a 'thank you for understanding,'" Nora said, offering a weak smile as she picked up the stack of book pieces.

Kitty just stared at her mother in disbelief. "_How are you so calm_?"

"Honey, I'm not calm," Nora assured her, dumping the pages in the recycle bin under the sink. "You're talking to a woman who's been living with a ghost for the past week. I'm in a constant state of shock."

As she gave her mother a fierce hug, Kitty offered, "If you want, Mom, you can stay at my place. Robert won't mind."

"No, it's alright. Your father is trying to contact me for a reason," Nora replied while she hugged Kitty tight before pulling away. "And I won't find that reason if I run from the house screaming."

"Would you be insulted if I did?" Kitty asked, only half-joking.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"I'm still mad at you, you know," Kevin remarked to his older sister. He was sitting on his mother's living room couch next to Sarah, dragged over against his will to comfort Nora in her time of need. Unusual need, but need all the same. He'd been ready to slam the door on Sarah when she came over earlier, but once she played the "Mom's upset" card, it was all over.

So he was retaliating by being petty. Childish, yes, but it was all he had.

While their mother went back into the kitchen to get beverages and snacks, he'd decided to take his shots while he could.

Sarah frowned and looked down at her lap. "Yes, I know."

"Just because I'm here doesn't mean I forgive you for _firing_ me," Kevin pressed.

Though she tried to suppress it, Kevin could've sworn Sarah rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know," she repeated.

"'It was all Holly and Tommy,' you say," Kevin continued, just because he was in the mood to do so. "Please. You're just as much a CEO as they are…"

_That_ was one snippy comment too far. Sarah's head snapped up and she glared at him, and suddenly Kevin regretted his choice in words. "Don't you _dare,_" Sarah warned in a hushed voice, so Nora wouldn't overhear. The whisper only enhanced her words and made a shiver go down Kevin's spine. "You have no _idea_ what it's like at Ojai right now, so don't _pretend_ to know what you're talking about. I've told you over and over, _I_ didn't fire you. Tommy and Holly did. I did everything I could to try to keep you. So don't get all pissy at me just because I'm the only one who cares enough to apologize."

There was absolute silence after that. Finally, Kevin cleared his throat. "I'm, uh, sorry."

Sarah didn't reply, and the two fell into silence again while they waited for Nora to get back.

Then there was a noise. But it wasn't Nora coming back into the room. Nora's laptop, which was on the coffee table, had snapped open on its own.

"How'd it do that?" Sarah wondered aloud as she gave it a wary glance.

Kevin's attention was now on the laptop also. "I don't know," he replied. He smirked. "Dad, you there?"

"Shut up," Sarah whispered while she smacked his arm. "Mom will hear you. I…Oh my God."

His eyes widened as Kevin stared at the laptop keyboard. Three keys were pressed down in slow motion, then all movement stopped. Sharing confused glances, they both leaned forward to see the letters on the screen. "S…t…a…" Sarah read. "What does that…"

Then the laptop snapped shut and nearly took her hand off.

"Ouch!" Sarah exclaimed as she sucked on her injured finger. "Now, Dad, that was just unnecessary," she half-joked.

Kevin couldn't help but chuckle at the absurd situation. "But Sarah, I thought you said it was all in Mom's head," Kevin mocked.

"What's all in my head?" Nora asked as she came in with a tray of coffee and various snacks. She raised an eyebrow at Sarah's bright red finger. "Oh, honey, what happened?"

"I, uh…" Sarah said as she trailed off. "I…was looking in my purse for something and got it caught on my compact mirror. Oh, this looks really good, Mom."

Nora smiled. "Thanks, sweetie. Kitty and I made it this morning."

_Nice one, sis_, Kevin thought as he took a slice of the coffee cake on the tray. Then he took in what his mother had just said. Sarah caught the words too and the siblings glanced at each other in shock. "_Kitty_ and you?" Kevin asked, surprised.

"I know, right? I couldn't believe it either," Nora explained. "But apparently she got it in her head that since she's a 'woman of leisure' now, she should learn to cook before they get a baby from the adoption agency. As you can imagine, I was all too happy to take her under my wing…oh, I forgot the sugar for the coffee. Excuse me."

Once she left the room, the laptop banged open again. While Sarah almost choked on her coffee cake, Kevin shook his head. "Even in death, Dad is still sneaking around behind Mom's back."

"That's not funny," Sarah retorted once she cleared her throat. "There has to be some explanation for this."

"So what do you suggest, Velma?" Kevin mocked.

Sarah shook her head. "I don't know. See what it says when its finished typing, I guess. It's all we've got."

More careful this time, they leaned in as the keys began typing again.

_S…t…a…y…_

Kevin raised an eyebrow as both an 'O' and the 'shift' key were pressed.

_S…t…a…y…O…_

"Hey, guys," Justin greeted while he walked in the house. He stopped at the living room and watched his siblings, who were watching a moving laptop. "Ah, Dad strikes again I see," he remarked and took a seat next to his brother on the couch. "Feels like 'Nancy Drew and the Haunted House,' doesn't it?"

Sarah smirked. "Yeah. Combining that with our previous Scooby-Doo reference, I guess that makes me Velma and Kevin Nancy."

"I resent that," Kevin replied. "I'd be Ned."

"Did you ever _read_ Nancy Drew? Ned was a jock," Sarah informed him.

Kevin frowned. "Oh. Then, yeah, I guess I would be Nancy."

"Hey, Velma, Nancy, at least pay attention to the clues," Justin said and pointed to the screen.

_S…t…a…y…O…j…a…i_

They all stared at the screen. "Stay Ojai," Sarah read. "Is that about me and how I want to quit?" Then she shook her head, as if bringing herself back down to earth. "No, it's not Dad…it's…it's just not Dad."

"What? You want to quit?" Kevin exclaimed. He'd known that she was fed up with her co-CEO's, but he had no idea it'd gotten this far.

Justin was also surprised and sat up in his seat. "You're kidding, right? Dad left _you_ the company."

They didn't discuss it any more, as Nora came back in with a container of sugar with a spoon sticking out. Like before, the laptop snapped closed, causing the agitated siblings to jump in surprise.

"Oh, Justin, I didn't hear you come in. Do you want…" Nora paused and gave them all a confused look. "What? What happened?"

They all shook off the incident and began eating more of the cake. "Nothing, Mom. Just…um, lovin' the Scooby snacks," Kevin said as he earned himself discreet glares from his siblings.

* * *

Tommy walked through the halls at work while he looked through papers and spoke on his cell phone. He'd been multitasking a lot lately. In addition to the virtual hole they'd dug themselves into with the bad deal, business wasn't doing so great and he'd been trying to come up with a plan to get them stable again.

"Sure, we can move the meeting up," Tommy said into the phone. "Alright, see you tomorrow."

He hung up and continued down the hallway to Holly's office. "Hey, Holly?" he said while he brushed past the secretary and went through Holly's open doorway.

The co-CEO sat at her desk, dressed in one of her usual business suits and typing on her computer. At Tommy's entrance, she looked up and sighed. "Yes? Make it quick. I'm just printing up my notes for today's meeting."

"Sorry to interrupt," Tommy said, the slightest of sarcasm in his voice. Contrary to what Sarah must think, he and Holly weren't "best buddies." If it weren't for her loan, he wouldn't tolerate her either. "But the investor meeting on Friday? Yeah, it's happening on Wednesday."

Holly glared at him. "What? Why didn't you check with me first? Wednesday is all booked for me!"

"Well, I'm sorry, Ms. Harper," Tommy retorted, now all sarcasm. "But something happened with them, and it was Wednesday or nothing. Unless you want to run this company into the ground because of a conflict in your precious schedule, I suggest you be there."

"Alright, no need to get angry," Holly replied as she stood up and checked her watch. "I have some things to go over with you and Sarah. I'll go get her – you stay here."

"I'll be here. Unfortunately," Tommy replied. She gave him one last frosty look on her way out.

Left alone in Holly's office, Tommy's thoughts wandered as he absentmindedly glanced around.

Again, contrary to what Sarah believed, he _did_ feel bad about having to fire Kevin. He did – it was a family company, and Kevin was family, his little brother. But what Sarah didn't understand was that sometimes, business came before familial nepotism. Kevin's lawyer services were simply too expensive for them to afford.

He didn't see Kevin offering to work for them at a lower rate and cut a loss "because they were family."

His gaze fell on a stack of file folders on Holly's desk. The name on the tab caused him to raise an eyebrow in surprise.

_Ryan Lafferty_

"What?" he whispered. Unable to help himself, he pulled it out as discreetly as he could and glanced at the contents.

They were all pages of information on various private investigators.

_Holly is trying to find Ryan?_ Tommy thought in surprise. _Why could she possibly want to find him? To satisfy some twisted curiosity?_

Of course, this now changed everything. If Holly found Ryan first, she'd be sure to turn him against his mother and their family. Use him to her advantage. Tommy didn't know how that would work, but this was Holly. She'd find some way to make it work.

_I have to tell Sarah about this. This is more important than whatever crap is between us._

But he'd have to save the heart-to-heart for later. He could hear the women walking down the hallway at that moment.

In a manner that was almost comical, Tommy shoved the file back in the stack of papers. The top layer shifted and would've cascaded onto the desk if he didn't set it right. After some paranoid rearranging of some of the possibly affected supplies on her desk, he whirled around and tried to act nonchalant as the women walked in.

Holly smirked at him, as if she knew he was up to something. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Tommy. I trust you didn't snoop?"

"Snoop? Me? Wouldn't dream of it," Tommy replied with a mischievous grin.

Holly stared him down for a brief second, and then returned his grin with a small smile of her own. "Well, then I just wanted to have a pre-meeting meeting, if you will." She paused as the phone on her absent secretary's desk rang. "Excuse me for a moment."

Once Holly was out of the room, Sarah whispered, "You snooped, didn't you?"

"Hell yeah," Tommy answered. "We need to talk. Soon."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Mom's lost it," Justin said to himself. He sat next to Rebecca on the living room couch. The two were watching Nora spread salt over the nearby windowsill.

Nora sighed and glanced back at them. "I did not 'lose it,' I'll have you know. I did some research, and apparently putting salt on windowsills helps get rid of ghosts. Maybe William just needs a…push into afterlife."

"But it's just salt," Rebecca pointed out.

"Not in supernatural terms," Nora said as she looked at the page open on her laptop again. "Salt is supposed to represent 'positive energy.' Now, where'd I put that sage…"

Justin shared an exasperated look with his girlfriend. True, over the past few days since the "laptop incident," the "ghostly experiences" had been increasing. It seemed his father was trying to get their attention any way possible. Things moved, doors slammed, various objects had even floated in midair. And it had gotten to the point now where each of them had heard their name whispered a few times.

But it was pushing his mother over the edge. She now refused to be in a room alone, and after he checked on her one night, Justin found she slept with all the lights on. It was driving her crazy wondering what William wanted from her. Because, even Justin had to admit, his mother was the most frequent "victim" of these incidents.

In a way, however, Justin was with his mother on this one. He hadn't really gotten along with his father when he was alive. Justin wasn't too thrilled about having to deal with his afterlife too.

But this was ridiculous.

"Mom, you have to calm down," Justin argued. "Get out of the house for a few days. You did say Kitty offered you her place."

Rebecca nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and if you want, Justin and I will do all this stuff while you're gone," she said. She only gave Justin an insistent look when he raised an eyebrow in a "you've got to be kidding" manner.

_On the other hand…_ Justin thought. _Mom gone…Rebecca and I all alone working to rid spirits together…alone…_"That's a great idea," Justin agreed as he quickly changed his tune. Rebecca rolled her eyes at him as she saw his train of thought. "Yeah, we'll get the sage and the candles…Dad won't know what hit him."

"Candles! That's what I need!" Nora exclaimed and headed to the closet nearby. Their suggestions went ignored while she dug out some thick candles and their holders, then placed them on the coffee table. "They're supposed to draw ghosts, right?"

Rebecca shrugged. "It always worked for the Charmed Ones."

"But that was a TV show," Justin argued. "And they were witches. Unless you've been hiding something, Mom, it won't work for us."

"Ha ha," Nora retorted as she lit one of the candles. "Well, it can't hurt. And what are you two just sitting there for? Start going through that stuff," she ordered while she indicated the boxes of William's personal items stacked near the couch. "Maybe we'll find something that'll explain why he's here."

Justin scoffed while he picked up a box of mementos. "He _should_ be here to apologize to you. First Holly, now Ryan's mom…"

"That would be nice. But I would think it would be something more…pressing, than a simple apology," Nora replied. But the wistful look on her face revealed how much such an apology would mean to her. Then she shook her head and used a match to light one of the candles. "Now I think I left the sage in the kitchen."

While she was gone, the couple began sifting through the piles of belongings. Rebecca dug out a small photo album with no label on it. "What's this?" she asked.

"I don't know, never seen it before," Justin answered as he glanced at it. "Mom said she found a bunch of stuff while going through Dad's office, stuff even she never saw. But it hurt too much at the time so she never went through it."

Rebecca opened the album and gasped. "Good thing she didn't."

"Why not?" Justin asked absentmindedly. He was busy going through some old papers.

"Look at this!" Rebecca demanded as she elbowed his arm. "It's my mom! And…and…and me, when I was little!"

_That_ got Justin to glance up at her. "Really? He kept a whole album of you guys?"

"Apparently. Look…" Rebecca said. The two went through the pictures, which were all of either William and Holly, or just Holly, or baby pictures of Rebecca. They quickly went through the book…and stopped about halfway through. "Oh my God…that's…"

"Ryan. And his mother," Justin said. He put his head in his hands out of sheer exasperation. _It's going to kill Mom that Dad kept a visual reminder of his illegitimate families._

They were distracted when the flame on the candle flickered. Then turned blue.

Justin's jaw dropped. "Whoa."

"Found it!" Nora exclaimed as she chose that moment to come in with the sage. "Now, the website said you're supposed to burn it and spread the smoke through the house…" She paused when she saw the candle. "Oh. Well, you know, I was reading that candles typically turn blue when a ghost is in the room."

Justin scoffed at that. "'Typically,' she says."

Rebecca took the opportunity to slam the album shut and slide it over to Justin, who noticed one of the pages was earmarked. He peeked while his mother was busy lighting the sage to find that one of the pictures of Ryan was missing. "Hey, did you see…"

"Oh it's over here. I guess it fell out," Rebecca said as she reached for the picture on the arm of the couch. She let out a small yelp of surprise when it jumped away from her and landed on the floor. "Justin!"

"I've got it," Justin whispered and grabbed for it. But the picture kept sliding from his grasp over to Nora, who was thankfully still unaware of the picture. He couldn't get it in time and it plastered itself on Nora's leg.

She paused with the sage in her hand and glanced down. "What in the world…" she said and raised an eyebrow at her son's crouched position.

"Uh, just…" Justin trailed off as his mother blew out the sage, put it down, and then picked up the picture.

Her eyes widened. "Oh my God, that's Ryan, isn't it? Where did this come from?"

"The box of stuff," Justin explained, careful not to mention the album. "Dad, uh, got a hold of it, I guess."

Nora nodded in understanding. "That explains a lot. It must have something to do with Ryan. Oh, I wish I could just _talk_ to William and get this over with."

Justin laughed. "What, like a séance? Mom, movements and noises are one thing, but…"

"A séance! Oh, that'd be perfect, Justin!" Nora exclaimed. "And you know, I was reading that it's done best with six people or more. Sarah mentioned a sibling dinner when she came by – we can do it then! I'm going to go call her right now."

As his excited mother left the room for the phone, Justin traded bewildered looks with his girlfriend. Rebecca was trying desperately not to laugh at the idea of all five Walker siblings and Nora contacting the dead.

Justin couldn't blame her. His siblings would be less than enthused, but would probably go through with it for their mother. "Sarah's going to kill me."

* * *

After the meeting with the investors, Sarah pulled Tommy into her office while Holly went back to work. "Okay, you were glaring at Holly throughout that _entire_ meeting," Sarah said while she feebly tried to suppress a grin. "And as much as I _thoroughly_ enjoyed that…what's up with you?"

"Sarah, this is serious," Tommy snapped, and she was quick to wipe the grin from her face. "You know how I said I snooped in Holly's office?"

A small smile was back on Sarah's face. "Yeah. I'm so proud of you!"

"Oh, shut _up_…" Tommy groaned. "You don't get it. I found…something. Something weird.

Sarah scoffed. "You're not the only one these days. What is it?"

Tommy sighed and hesitated, then finally explained, "The file on her desk said _Ryan Lafferty_."

All traces of humor were gone in an instant. _That bitch,_ Sarah thought. _Our company isn't good enough for her? She wants our family too?_ "Well, maybe it doesn't mean what we think it…"

"Oh, it does," Tommy assured her. "There was information on different private investigators."

Sarah clenched her fists while her temper rose a few notches. "Damn it, Tommy! I _knew_ we should have started looking for him when we first found out! Now who knows what Holly has planned!"

"Maybe it's nothing. Maybe she just wants to find him to satisfy her curiosity," Tommy argued with a note of hope in his voice.

"Wake _up_. This is Holly we're talking about," Sarah ranted as she began to pace her office. "She has some _scheme_ going on in that evil brain of hers, I just know it."

Tommy raised an eyebrow. "Paranoid much, sis?"

Sarah glared at him. "Think, Tommy. We _know_ that Ryan _is_ Dad's son. He might want a part of the company once he finds out about it. If Holly gets him on her side, we're _toast_." She didn't know where all this was coming from, but it all made sense that it would be what Holly would be thinking. _Maybe I'm "channeling Dad's energy,"_ Sarah thought sarcastically. "And I'm on my way out as it is. You'd be left with a constant two to one vote, and I know you don't…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back it up," Tommy demanded as he held up his hands. "'On my way out'?"

_I have _got_ to stop doing that,_ Sarah thought with a long sigh. "Things have just been hectic here, with you and Holly a-and…" She paused and sighed again. She wasn't even sure herself, so she _really_ didn't want to start arguing with Tommy about it. "You know what, forget it, it was a passing thought on a bad work day."

"Good. Let's keep it that way," Tommy replied, his tone tense.

Sarah was just about to glare at him when her cell phone rang. "Hello?"

"_Sarah, honey, Justin had the _best_ idea for our dinner next weekend!"_

Relieved that her mother no longer seemed to be a nervous wreck, Sarah glanced at her brother. "It's Mom."

"_Is that Tommy? Put me on speaker! I want his input too!"_

Sarah did so, and her brother called, "Hi Mom. What's going on?"

"_Well, you know how your father's been haunting the house?"_

"Oh, God, not this again," Sarah groaned.

Meanwhile, Tommy had burst out laughing as he took in the news. "Mom, you're not serious, are you? That's crazy."

"_I am not crazy! Justin doesn't think so You haven't been here so you haven't seen…"_

At that, Sarah couldn't help but intervene. "She's right, Tommy. Even if it isn't Dad's ghost…something _very_ weird is going on in that house."

"_Oh, it's your father. And he's not leaving me alone! Which is actually why I called. See, this afternoon we were going through some of your father's things, trying to think of a reason why your father would be haunting me…"_

Tommy laughed. "Oh, really? And what did you, Fred and Daphne find?"

"Nice," Sarah said with a chuckle. _Haunted house, Scooby Doo references. It just makes _sense, she thought.

"_Oh, cut it out, you two! There was another picture of Ryan in with your father's things. The three of us think he may have to tell us something about Ryan. So we're having a séance after our dinner this weekend."_

There was complete silence as the siblings stared at each other in shocked disbelief.

"A _séance_?" Tommy exclaimed. "You mean like mediums and holding hands around a table with candles burning…Mom, you can't be serious. That stuff doesn't work."

"_I didn't think it did either until a ghost started haunting my house. Now I'm willing to try anything."_

"No, Mom, there must be another way. Can't you hire a real medium who knows what he's doing?" Sarah suggested. She wasn't sure if she believed that "real mediums" existed, but it was better than she and her siblings sitting around the living room table trying to contact the dead.

"_Don't be ridiculous! I'm not hiring one of those quacks! Come on, it'll be fun! It can be a séance party!"_

"Right, because _we'll_ totally know what we'll be doing,' Sarah retorted.

Tommy grimaced. "A séance _party_?There won't be any costumes involved, right?"

"_Only if you want them to be! It'll be fun, perfect for Halloween! Please?"_

"Uh…one second, Mom," Sarah said as she took her mother off speaker, put her hand on the phone and gave her brother a pleading look. "Come on, Tommy. This ghost thing has _really_ been freaking Mom out. Maybe if we do this séance thing for her, even if it doesn't work, it'll at least ease her mind a little"

"Oh, sure, use that against me," Tommy muttered. "Alright, fine, but if it involves any weird chanting or getting naked for _any_ reason, I'm leaving."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "I don't think it's _that_ kind of ritual, Tommy. But don't worry, if it is, I'm leaving with you." Then she went back to her mother on the phone. "Alright, Mom, we're in. As long as everyone gets to keep their clothes on."


End file.
